Aug 17, 2010 
New record in terms of performance per square meter: The new SIPLACE SX places up to 120,000 cph on a footprint of only 1.90 x 2.65 meters.
As far as placement heads are concerned, electronics manufacturers can pick from the super-fast SIPLACE SpeedStar CP20, the flexible SIPLACE MultiStar CPP, and the proven SIPLACE Twinhead for large and exotic components. With its head modularity, the SIPLACE SX4 can be either a high-speed addition to the SX1 and SX2 or a flexible standalone solution. The SIPLACE SX4 is made even more flexible by its software with many new features.
With its SIPLACE SX1 and SIPLACE SX2 models, technology leader Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems (SEAS) introduces the world’s first placement machine platform with extensive Capacity-on-Demand capabilities. With their spectrum of placement heads and the ability to change them in less than 15, minutes, all SX models feature exceptional configuration flexibility. As a result, the SIPLACE SX platform provides the ideal basis for the highly flexible and strictly order-oriented electronics production of the future, as well as the perfect solution for electronics manufacturers operating in the flexible high-speed segment.
The powerful four-gantry SIPLACE SX4 can be equipped with the SIPLACE SpeedStar CP20, the SIPLACE MultiStar CPP and the SIPLACE TwinHead. When the production requirements change, changing a head takes only five minutes. Equipped with four CP20 high-speed heads, the SIPLACE SX4 can place up to 120,000 components per hour. Including the 148 8-mm feeder slots, the machine takes up only 1.90m x 2.65 meters of floor space, which makes it the new record holder in terms of performance relative to footprint.
All conveyor versions and i-Placement along the entire line
The SIPLACE SX4 can be used with all SIPLACE conveyor versions ranging from the single transport to the dual transport, as well as the Quad Lane with four tracks (for PCB sizes up to 285 mm x 150 mm). With the appropriate software settings, it can also use the SIPLACE i-Placement option. With this concept, the two heads in a single placement area populate only the products on the tracks on "their" side. This reduces the amount of head travel required and speeds up the placement performance. i-Placement is especially interesting with the SIPLACE TwinHead, where it delivers performance improvements of up to 45 percent. With many products, it can eliminate the typical bottleneck caused by the end-of-line placement of large and/or exotic components.
New software functions improve real-life performance
The current software for SX placement machines supports whispering-down-the-line features and the station-by-station downloading of production data. In addition, the SX platform features a large variety of setup strategies. The Constant Feeder Table option, for example, groups feeders which are needed for multiple setups on the same table. This reduces the setup effort when products change, because the constant feeder tables can stay on the line. For products with a limited component spectrum, the SIPLACE Split Table Mode can alternatively be used. With this option, the tables are virtually split during the optimization. As a result, the available areas of the tables can be used to set up the feeders for the next product while the line is still running. With SX-Series machines, the split table arrangement can also be used in combination with Single Side Mode, i.e. one product is set up on the left side and the other product on the right side of the machine. Both setup options permit floating setups with no-stop product changeovers and eliminate the need for a second set of component tables.
Highly versatile
While the SIPLACE SX1 and SX2 allow mainly small and medium-sized electronics manufacturers to increase their flexibility, the high-speed SX4 expands the SX platform towards large manufacturers and contract manufacturers with high demands in terms of placement speed and performance per floor space unit. With their many configuration options, their large feeder capacity and the many options provided by the SIPLACE Software Suite, the SX placement machines with their Capacity-on-Demand capabilities are the ideal platform for building production environments that are just as powerful as they are flexible.
